Wild house mice have a more dynamic and aerotolerant gut microbiota than laboratory mice
The mammalian gut microbiota is a complex microbial community with diverse impacts on host biology. House mice (Mus musculus) are the major model organism for research on mammals, but laboratory domestication has altered their gut microbiota from that of their wild counterparts. Knowledge about how and why the gut microbiota of this species varies between lab and wild settings and among natural populations could improve its utility as a model organism. Here, we use a large dataset comprising over 800 house mouse samples from multiple laboratory facilities and strains and wild mice from mainland and island populations to investigate gut microbiota variation in this species across contrasting genetic and environmental settings. Across geographically disparate populations, we find that wild mice possess a gut microbiota that is compositionally distinct, displays a higher relative abundance and richness of aerotolerant taxa, and is taxonomically and functionally more diverse than that of lab mice. Longitudinally sampled wild mice also display markedly higher temporal turnover in microbiota composition than lab mice. Wild mice from oceanic islands harboured microbiotas that differed subtly from those of mainland wild mice and were more divergent from lab mouse microbiotas. These findings highlight much greater spatial and temporal turnover of gut microbes in wild compared to laboratory mice.
Authors
- Kathryn J. Else (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6660-055X)
- Marie Vallier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7188-7070)
- Iris Mair (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7326-3114)
- Miriam Linnenbrink (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0163-3056)
- Susan Joseph (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0297-5405)
- Sarah C. L. Knowles (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2368-4623)
- Eveliina Hanski (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1952-8724)
- Maude Quicray (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9657-0627)
- Jens‐Kjeld Jensen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7268-6046)
- Andrew Wolfenden
- Aura Raulo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4860-7840)
- Jonathan H. Plissner
- Wieteke A. Holthuijzen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4280-3288)
- Michael A. Curtis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1563-9953)
- Janette E. Bradley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3973-7977)
- James W. Swann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7988-9997)
- John F. Baines (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1372-8426)
Institutions
- University of the Faroe Islands (FO)
- United States Fish and Wildlife Service (US)
- University of Nottingham (GB)
- University of Turku (FI)
- University of Liège (BE)
- King's College London (GB)
- University of Manchester (GB)
- Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (DE)
- University of Oxford (GB)
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology (DE)
- University of Tennessee at Knoxville (US)
- Columbia University (US)
- University of Edinburgh (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- BMC Microbiology
- Published
- 2025-04-09
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12866-025-03937-1
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Gut microbiota and health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 4.03
Funders
- National Geographic Society
- NERC Environmental Bioinformatics Centre
- UK Research and Innovation
- European Commission
- Osk. Huttusen säätiö
- Directorate for Biological Sciences
- Medical Research Council
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
- Natural Environment Research Council
- Centre for Ecology and Hydrology
- HORIZON EUROPE European Research Council